Mapping MONTALCINO

The first week of April is the one time of spring that you don't want to be in Montalcino - or in any Italian wine town for that matter - since the majority of the country's winemakers won't be found in their vineyards but in Verona at Vinitaly, the Superbowl of Italian wine fairs.  For the rest of the month do come out. Above all if you're not just a wine drinker but also  a hobby photographer, watercolorist, hiker or wildflower lover. Va l d'Orcia in April is the proverbial explosion of colors, which will have its climax in May  before the landscape turns into hues of Sienna in the month of June.  GOOD TO KNOW Bring an umbrella. April is one of the rainiest months in Tuscany (hence all the colors). And i f you can, avoid Easter in Montalcino - Brunello town is a popular weekend destination for Northern Europeans and Italians who spend Pasqua away from home. Montalcino's town center and the famous Sant'Antimo abbey get very busy ...

Join the daily neighborhood chat in Buonconvento  Certain things can't be reiterated often enough: Buonconvento is one of Tuscany's best kept secrets - stunning medieval town center, great restaurants and museums and hardly any tourists around! If you are travelling Tuscany this week, the Sagra della Val D'Arbia (the yearly village festival) is one more reason for a stopover in the lovely town in the Crete Senesi (the stunning clay landscape south of Siena). 

Buonconvento: benches waiting for the idle visitor.  I've written about my passion for Buonconvento before. The Southern Tuscan town sports  great museums and ice-cream and a beautiful town center with impressive town walls. Plus, the town is often overlooked by tourists heading towards Montalcino and the Val d'Orcia. Buonconvento is not entirely off-the-beaten track, but definitely refreshing after an afternoon spent jammin' it in Siena or Pienza.  This said, during a few days of the year you'll be surprised by running into quite the crowd in Buonconvento. Luckily it will be made up by mainly locals, not tourists.